Fiorella Foscarini
Assistant Professor
Education:
2009: Ph.D. in Library, Archival and Information Studies - School of Library, Archival and Information Studies - University of British Columbia
2003: Master's Degree in Design and Management of Advanced Records Systems (Master in progettazione e gestione di sistemi documentari avanzati) - University of Urbino
1995: Degree in Archival Science, Palaeography and Diplomatics (Diploma di Archivistica, Paleografia e Diplomatica) - Bologna State Archives School
1992: Degree in Arts and Philosophy (Laurea in Lettere e Filosofia) - University of Bologna
Administrative responsibilities:
Faculty of Information:
- ARM path liaison
- Dean's Advisory Group
- Awards Committee
- Information Services Committee
Biography:
Before joining the Faculty of Information in January 2010, Fiorella Foscarini held the position of Senior Archivist at the European Central Bank in Frankfurt am Main (Germany) for a decade. Previously, she was the Head of the Records Management Office and Intermediate Archives (Ufficio Protocollo e Archivio Generale) at the Province of Bologna (Italy).
Research highlight:
Professor Foscarini is interested in exploring the relationship between information management and organizational cultures. Her teaching and research also involve studying the form and function of contemporary records through diplomatics and genre theory.
Research description:
Professor Foscarini's research project entitled "Global Dimensions of Information Culture" is funded through the Connaught New Researcher Award. Its goal is to develop an 'information culture survey tool' that will be used as a conceptual and practical framework to analyze attitudes towards managing information and records in multi-national private sector organizations.
Research interests:
- Records management
- Functional approach to records classification and archival appraisal
- Organizational cultures and recordkeeping
- Diplomatics and genre studies
- Digital preservation.
Selected publications:
Articles
Foscarini, F. "Diplomatics and Genre Theory as Complementary Approaches." Archival Science 12, 4 (December 2012): 389-409.
Foscarini, F. "Understanding Functions: An Organizational Culture Perspective." Records Management Journal 22, 1 (2012): 20-36.
Foscarini, F. "Understanding the Context of Records Creation and Use. 'Hard' versus 'Soft' Approaches to Records Management." Archival Science 10, 4 (December 2010): 389-407.
Foscarini, F. "La clasificación de documentos basada en funciones: comparación de la teoría y la práctica." [Function-based Records Classification: Comparing Theory and Practice] /Tabula/ 13 (2010): 41-58.
Foscarini, F. “Cosa sappiamo in realtà delle funzioni? Una rilettura critica dell’approccio alla selezione e scarto dei documenti basato sulle funzioni.” Archivi & Computer 2-3 (2007): 97-111.
Foscarini, F. "InterPARES 2 and the Records-Related Legislation of the European Union." Archivaria 63 (Spring 2007): 121-136.
Foscarini, F. “Records Classification and Functions: An Archival Perspective.” Knowledge Organization 33, 4 (2006): 188-198.
Conference Papers
Foscarini, F. and Oliver G., "The Information Culture Challenge: Moving Beyond OAIS." 9th International Conference on Preservation of Digital Objects (iPRES) 2011, Toronto, October 1-5, 2012.
Foscarini, F. “The Functional Approach: Myth or Reality?” Association of Canadian Archivists (ACA) 2011 Annual Conference. Toronto, June 2-4, 2011.
Foscarini, F., “Diplomatics and Genre Theory as Complementary Disciplines.” Association of Canadian Archivists (ACA) 2011 Annual Conference. Toronto, June 2-4, 2011.
Foscarini, F. “The Role of Records Classification in an Electronic Environment.” Coloquio Internacional Gestión de Archivos y Administración Electrónica de Documentos (CIGAED) [International Colloquium on Archives and Electronic Records Management], Caracas (Venezuela), March 23-25, 2011.
Foscarini, F. “Understanding the context of records creation and use. ‘Hard’ versus ‘soft’ approaches to records management.” 8th European Conference on Digital Archiving, Geneva, 28-30 April 2010
Foscarini, F. "What do We Know about Functions? A Critical Review of the Functional Approach to Records Appraisal." International Conference “Appraisal in the Digital World,” Rome, Accademia dei Lincei, 15-16 November 2007.
Foscarini, F. “Issues of Digital Preservation in the Legislation of the European Union. The findings of the InterPARES Project Policy Cross-Domain.” Annual Conference of the Association of Canadian Archivists (ACA), St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, June 28-July 1, 2006.
In Proceedings
Foscarini, F., Oliver G., Ilerbaig, J., Krumrei, K. "Preservation Cultures: Developing a Framework for a Culturally Sensitive Digital Preservation Agenda." Proceedings of the UNESCO Conference: The Memory of the World in the Digital Age: Digitization and Preservation. Vancouver, September 26-28, 2012. UNESCO 2013: 419-430.
Foscarini, F. “The European Central Bank: Towards an Integrated Records and Archives Management Programme.” In Zwischen analog und digital – Schriftgutverwaltung als Herausforderung für Archive. Beiträge zum 13. Archivwissenschaftlichen Kolloquium der Archivschule Marburg, Veröffentlichungen der Archivschule Marburg, Nr. 49 (Marburg, 2009): 207-220.
Foscarini, F. “Cultures of Trust: Legal, Technical, and Archival Perspectives on the Use of Digital Signature Technologies.” In Informatik 2008: Beherrschbare Systeme – dank Informatik Band 1. Beiträge der 38. Jahrestagung der Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V. (GI), 8-13 September 2008 in München. Lecture Notes in Informatics (LNI), vol. P-133, Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V. (Bonn, 2008): 37-47.
Co-authored Papers
Oliver, G. and Foscarini F. “Corporate Recordkeeping: New Challenges for Digital Preservation” – accepted for inclusion in the Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Preservation of Digital Objects (iPRES) 2011, Singapore, November 1-4, Oliver, G. and Foscarini F. “Corporate Recordkeeping: New Challenges for Digital Preservation.” Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Preservation of Digital Objects (iPRES) 2011, Singapore, November 1-4, 2011
Foscarini, F., Kim Y., Lee C.A., Mehler A., Oliver G., and Ross S. "On the Notion of Genre in Digital Preservation." In Chanod J.-P. et al. (eds.) Proceedings of the Dagstuhl Seminar 10291 on Automation in Digital Preservation, Schloss Dagstuhl, 18-23 July 2010.
Duranti L. and Foscarini F. “The impact of the organizational culture of test-beds on the action research case study process: some preliminary findings from TEAM Canada.” In Proceedings of the International Symposium on Digital Records Preservation, Seoul, Korea, 3-5 June 2009. Sungkyunkwan University Paper, Seoul. Also published in Italian: Archivi IV/1 (January-June 2010):7-20.
Suderman J., Foscarini F., and Coulter E. “InterPARES 2 Project – Archives Legislation Study Report” (September 2005).
Ph.D. Dissertation
Foscarini, F. “Function-Based Records Classification Systems: An Exploratory Study of Records Management Practices in Central Banks” (June 2009).
Master Thesis
Foscarini, F. “La Banca d'Italia e i suoi archivi” (December 2003).
Degree Thesis (Tesi di Laurea)
Foscarini, F. "Francesco Stelluti Accademico Linceo (1577-1653)" (March 1992).
Affiliations & collaboration:
Records Management Journal Editorial Board
Archivi (ANAI journal) Scientific Committee
Year joined the iSchool:
2010 